DRAM Prices May Drop

1 October 2018

EE Times Asia

Good news for consumers as DRAM prices look to have peaked

SAN FRANCISCO — DRAM pricing is expected to decline about 5% in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter amid increasing bit supply and limit demand growth ahead of the holiday season, according to TrendForce, a market research firm that tracks memory chip pricing.

“DRAM products have begun to see a weak price trend since 3Q18 after the price growth of nine consecutive quarters," said Avril Wu, a senior research director at DRAMeXchange, a unit of TrendForce, in a statement.

Wu said PC and server DRAM prices have been particularly soft, growing by only 1-2% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, mobile DRAM pricing has been flat despite the approach of the holiday season, Wu said. Graphics DRAM has also seen prices drop, she added.

"On the other hand, the spot prices have been sliding since the beginning of this year and then dropped to a level lower than contract prices at the end of June," Wu said. "Currently, the spot prices are 10% lower than contract prices, which is an early indicator of the possible DRAM price decline in general."